No Place Like Home
by CliCliR
Summary: What if Faith had reacted differently to the murder of Deputy Mayor Allan Finch in season 3? My take on it. Intended one shot, but could become a continuation depending on feedback... Please RnR if you want me to continue!


**Hey guys!! Okay. So this was just an idea I was throwing around while doing the monotonous chore of tidying my room. I hope you like it! I don't think it's very close to the actual events of when Finch is killed, but I just wanted to try this. I don't focus much on Faith fics and don't read them all that much, so I haven't tried to copy this from someone else. It probably has been done before though… =P One last thing!! If you like it, please review cause I've been throwing around an idea or two for a continuation of this! :D**

**Thanks!!**

**Enjoy!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any recognised characters here. Please don't sue, I have no money! :P**

**No Place Like Home**

"Faith!!"

She was caught up in the moment. She spun agilely and drove a sharpened stake through the figure's chest, a chest softer than any vampire's should be.

Silence. Deadly silence. Realisation struck a second too late as Faith stared wide eyed at the man sinking down the wall, slowly dying. There was nothing she could do to help him.

_Oh God, _she thought. Oh God. A God she had long forgotten as a child. She remembered giving that up with the innocence and naivety of her youth. Closing the door of the humble trailer she'd thought of as "Home". _Oh God, he's dying. And I'm just standing here. I should do something. I'll…… I'll………… _

She tried to move, to turn and run and find someone who'd help, but she was rooted to the spot with fear. The only thing her body would allow her to do was step backwards in shock.

_I've killed things before. This is the exact same thing. _She remembered squashing bugs for entertainment in the rubble she'd considered her garden. She remembered killing rats and mice, snakes and lizards. Things that were considered pests.

And later there were vampires. More pests. Just things that needed dusting. Monsters that didn't give second thoughts to the people they killed. Monsters that Faith killed for fun. She had to wonder, were they the monsters or was she? They killed simply because they had no other choice. They were predators, humans were prey.

She killed vampires because she had the power to. Not because they were evil. Not because they killed. Not because she had to. Because she wanted to. Because it was fun. Because for a few minutes she could forget who she was and get lost in the moment. Wasn't that what had led to her just murdering a human being? Humans and vampires were entirely different. There was no way to justify what she'd just done. She knew that.

Faith watched the shell of what was once the Deputy Mayor, Allan Finch, slouch further down the wall, sigh a final breath and shut his eyes. She heard Buffy's voice, distant now. "Faith, we have to do something. Get help!"

She couldn't move, she could barely breathe. "FAITH!!" she heard a familiar voice in her memories, calling her. A teenager. Barely a few years older than Faith had been the last time she'd heard it. Most presumably dead now. It was enough to shock Faith into moving again.

She blinked and looked around, as though unable to recognise where she was. Then she stepped back. One step. Two steps. Remembering the caring teen who was kind enough to teach her counting in the first place. The usually carefree girl tried to shake the painful memories from her head. "No." She mumbled.

Buffy stood up and watched as Faith's wide brown eyes filled with tears. "Faith, are you-"

"NO!!!" Faith cut in, turning and running from the alley before Buffy was able to understand what was happening.

Faith ran. She ran from the alley. From the darkness that threatened to consume her if she stopped. She needed someone. Anyone. She let her feet lead the way and found herself barely stopping to open the door of the motel she was staying in. She threw herself onto the bed she had tried to call her own but hadn't managed to. She knew where her bed was and she was miles away from it. Sobbing breathlessly, she tried to imagine herself back in the simpler world she had left behind. She was so lost in her thoughts that, she never noticed the woman walk through the door.

Or the strong arms that wrapped themselves around Faith in a hug.

Faith recognised the voice of the other slayer. "It's okay Faith. You did something wrong. We all make mistakes."

She mumbled, more to herself than to Buffy. "I'm so sorry Sis. I know you said leave, run as far away as I could. I can't. This world is too big for me."

Buffy didn't know what to say and was glad she didn't have to say anything. There was nothing she could say at a time like this. She just held Faith tight and shushed her sobbing every once in a while until the defenceless girl fell into a troubled sleep. Through the night, Buffy thought of what Faith had said and was glad she had her mom to talk to about things. Faith began to stir at sunrise and Buffy saw this as her opportunity.

"Faith?" Faith mumbled in response, shifting a little to make herself more comfortable in Buffy's consoling arms. "Faith, you know what you did?" At this Faith moaned, remembering the events of the previous night a lot more vividly than she'd have liked to. "We'll have to tell someone Faith. They have to know, and they'll find out sooner or later. Better we tell them straight up." Buffy spoke in a hushed voice, though every sound she made was like lightening shattering the calm before the storm.

Faith knew she had to face up to this. It was the right thing to do and Lilly was always one to try and do the right thing. When exactly had Faith forgotten that in her rush to leave and play hero?

Probably around the same time she became a killing machine.

If she did it for no one else, she'd do it for Lilly, for her sister. At that time Faith couldn't help but wish for the familiar trailer she used to call home and the rubble out front she used to call a garden.

She finally understood how Dorothy felt so far away from Kansas.

She finally understood the phrase she had heard so many times.

"_There's No Place Like Home"_


End file.
